This invention relates in general to a basketball shooting training aid to increase the shooting skill of a basketball player and, more particularly, to a basketball shot trainer to aid a basketball player in developing a consistent basketball shot by positioning the player""s arm and constraining the arm""s movement during the shooting motion.
In developing and perfecting the shooting skill of a basketball player, it has been recognized that the performance and perfection of such skills are enhanced by the strengthening of the muscle groups involved, and exercising these muscles repeatedly in a consistent repetitive motion. A number of devices for training a basketball player""s shooting skills have been developed for this purpose.
In L. E. Bishop, U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,685, xe2x80x9cTRAINING AID FOR BASKETBALL PLAYERSxe2x80x9d, there is disclosed a shot training device including a vest 11 worn by the player and having a guide bar 22 made of a suitable metal or other suitable material pivotally mounted to the vest for guiding the user""s arm in a generally vertical plane substantially parallel to the upper trunk portion of the user""s body. The user wears an elastic sleeve 34 over the elbow of the shooting arm, and the elastic sleeve is attached to the guide bar 22 by a carriage 27 which includes an upper roller supported for rolling action along the guide bar 22.
Another basketball shooting training device is disclosed in G. H. Furr, U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,341, xe2x80x9cSHOOTING GUIDE FOR BASKETBALL PLAYERxe2x80x9d. This device includes a harness 18 worn on the shooter""s body, and having an L-shaped arm guide 20 including an elongated arm guide element or rod 34 having an outwardly flared front end portion 35. The arm guide member 20 may be adjusted laterally to confine the shooter""s arm in a substantially vertical plane next to the player""s body and to draw the elbow closer to the torso as each shot is executed.
G. W. Caveness, U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,783, xe2x80x9cBASKETBALL TRAINING AIDxe2x80x9d, discloses a belt supported 12, 14 transversely extending gage arm 40 which is mounted to a pivot arm 22 extending upwardly and forwardly of the user. The gage arm 40 is pivotally adjustable in a generally vertical plane extending outwardly and forwardly from the front of the user. The degree in which the arm 22 is pivoted outwardly and forwardly from the front of the user, is controlled by the positioning of a pin member 28 relative to one of a plurality of openings 24 formed in a sector plate 16 to which the arm 22 is pivotally attached. A guide bar 46 extends downwardly, and is laterally movable relative to the transverse gage arm 40 to indicate the proper position in which the player""s elbow should be during shooting.
These prior art devices, as well as other devices in the prior art, are awkward requiring the use of components which either do not physically guide the arm in the desired shooting motion, thereby allowing the arm to move from the proper shot technique, or can distract and interfere with the player""s shooting techniques, or both.
The present invention is intended to overcome one or more of the problems associated with the relevant technology.
In the preferred embodiment of this invention, an arm bar is utilized to control the movement of a user""s shooting arm in a predetermined direction and predetermined elbow placement. The shooter""s arm is connected to the arm bar such that the shooting arm and elbow pivot in a predetermined manner relative to the user""s torso. The shooting arm is held in the desired position on the user by means of a back plate which extends across the back of a user""s shoulders, and which pivotally mounts shooting arm guide bar. A front or chest plate, which covers a small portion of the user""s chest, and the back plate use interconnecting straps to form an open xe2x80x9cvest-likexe2x80x9d light-weight structure having sufficient rigidity to hold the shooting arm guide bar in a proper position without interfering with the natural body movement of the user. The advantages obtained in accordance with the present invention, together with additional features contributing thereto, will be apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which is shown in the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout.